Bang!

She ran, and ran and ran. The sharp and abrupt sound of a bullet being fired up in the air terrorized her subconsciousness. Fear becoming the fuel that motivated her legs to run faster than she has ever ran. Sadness. She felt the hot tears streaming down her face, the thought of looking back would only cause her to feel massive pain, guilt and shame. 'Sorry'. The one remaining word that continues to stir upon her head. 

She admits, she was not in the right state of mind but in a situation such as this, who wouldn't feel the same way she could? The person she cared about the most was left behind to deal with the enemy while she was given a chance to leave and run for safety.

Running away together would have been a better option. But if two goes, what will happen to the target? Just leave him off and be killed? Attend his funeral, feeling like a heartless, self-serving delinquent on the run? She'd rather die early doing the right thing.

But let's put on a reality check. Her own kindness, is nothing compared to her friend's heroic yet impulsive act. Not only is she risking her life to save not only, one. Better yet, two lives. 

"She'll be okay. . . she's alive, I just know it. Please. . . please. . . she will. . ." the girl mumbles forcing her mind to swallow up those words and keep it until her friend makes a return.

May her prayers be strong enough to reach the heavens and let her friend come out alive. The last thing she wanted to see was a corpse presented right in front of her.

"Everyone! They're over there! C'mon, Run!" announced the brunette.

At the sight of an ambulance, police cars and a large group of people standing at the top of a small hill, the group ran towards them shouting and waving their hands up to grab their attention. They are so close to finally exiting this whole nightmare.

Just run. Run a bit more. . . . She is close to her limit. But that didn't matter, so she gave up everything she had and ran like there was no tomorrow. All she needed was help so she could finally go back to save her friend. 

"I need to go back. . . I need to-" her steps started to slow down, eyes getting blurry and the next, she found herself on the ground looking helpless. "save. . ."

"Ah!" the girl screams sitting up from her bed, her hand tightly holding on her to blanket. Her face looking horrified and sweaty. Glancing to her side, she caught her three friends staring with a worried expression. Breathing heavily, Nina looks away and processes about what she just saw in her dreams. Her head must be playing games with her. . .

"Nina! Are you okay? What happened?"

"Bad dream?"

Nina hesitantly nods her head. "Y-Yeah I guess so." slowly looking down her left arm, she noticed that the chains she found herself tied to was no longer there. Strange. Was Hinagiku that kind enough to remove them? Something's fishy. "I thought we were-"

"Tethered to our beds?" Ni-ki clasped his hands together. "Well Miss Hinagiku - me and Soul's sweet ol' mother dearest was thoughtful enough to settle things with Koshino last night." batting his eyelashes, the japanese spoke with a bitter sweet tone. Hearing the small giggles of the girls marks his mission of making his friends laugh with his act was a success. "Yes! We're free to move around the windowless and air conditioned room but in exchange, they kept the door locked with four of their men guarding us from the outside."

Soul's mouth went agape. "They really thought everything through huh?"

"Exactly! From the room up until the guards, she must be a millionaire."

"Or she has strong connections from very powerful and influential people."

"Who knows maybe she's part of those wanted mafia gangs."

The sound of constant knocking interrupted the four's on-going conversation. Drifting their eyes towards the door, there they saw Hinagiku leaning by the door frame smiling like a proud woman. "Awww. . . are you four talking about me? That's so sweet! But none of those answers are correct but one is close to cracking the code." after hearing her response, the teens refuses to open their mouths once more of fear of being tortured and punished. The middle aged woman just laughed at the quiet answer. "You are all so behaved. But, before we start the day let's go downstairs and eat breakfast first?"

One by one, the teens quietly followed Hinagiku downstairs. Getting a great view of the mansion's elegant interior, the four were puzzled about the woman's choice of location. From movies and television series they've watched, the abducted would be kept somewhere far - a place where people wouldn't dare try stepping their foot on. Like an old and unused warehouse, an abandoned building, a small house at the heart of a forest or a place at the verge of collapsing.

Their idea of an abduction was way different from what they had expected. If a stranger manages to stop by, they would probably think that Hinagiku was sweet enough to take full custody of the teens and brought them home from a children's orphanage.

"Riki. Soul. I would like to have a moment with you two later this afternoon."

While Nagi has her full attention the boys, Nina took the chance and nudged Saeyoung by the shoulder and whispered. "Do you have a plan to get us out of here? Yeah, it's going great but we might never know when we might get killed or murdered or wake up with a knife stabbed on our stomachs."

Saeyoung sadly shooks her head. "I know but can you see the bodyguards on patrol in every corner of the room we passed by? Even the living room is filled with them, it's like we're surrounded by living statues."

"You mean, living security cameras?"

"Well yeah that"

Biting her inner lip, Nina shifts her gaze to Hinagiku. "I think I have an idea. Let's just hope it won't lead Miss Nagi to the point of eviscerating us once she sees through me."

"Takara!"

"Huh? Miihi?" engulfing her friend in a tight hug, Takara groans at the pang of pain she felt at her right leg. The girl signals Miihi to let her go. "What the heck happened?" horrified at the sight of her right leg in a cast, Takara felt like she was in the verge of crying. She never expected such a scenario.

"You fractured your right leg after rolling down the stairs."

"What!?"

Miihi laughs awkwardly. Fidgeting her fingers she was hesitating whether she should straight up inform Takara about how long it will take for her leg to heal or wait for the doctor and let her do the job instead. 

Takara balled her fist at the thought of the moment she was with Yasuo before she was confined with this state. How badly she wanted to jump on him and choke him to death. She'd single handedly kill him with the use of her bare hands once she's in a better condition. The only thing she could do as of now is to take note of that plan and add it to her life's bucket list.

"How long will it take for my leg to recover?" questioned the frustrated teen.

"Umm. . . the doctor said. . . for about six to seven months?"

"Six to seven months!?"

Miihi nods her head vigorously. "If not then. . . the maximum amount of time will be eight months?" 

"Eight months?" Takara repeated.

"Don't make me play 10 months by Enhypen!"

Takara lays back down on her bed and covered her face with a blanket. She wondered why accidents like this would always occur in such important occasions, and dealing with an injured leg was the least of her expectations. The fact that she had worked hard and dedicated her allotted time practicing the last two months with her team for the final competition, just to find herself under the care of a hospital minutes before the actual event started. 

Well there's the time from those two months she'll never get back.

"Takara! You're awake!" Lucy and the other members of her team entered the room with plastic bags in hand. "You hungry? We bought you some chocolate milk, banana bread, yogurt and a few energy drinks we thought you'd like."

"But aren't you supposed to be at the performance dome? Did you talk to the judges about this? Who won?"

Xinlong shrugs at the girl. "Dunno. We forfeited after the news of you rolling down a staircase and getting injured broke out." after passing the carton of banana milk to his injured friend, he sat back down with his fellow members of the team looking devastated and pitiful. Takara noticed this behaviour.

Scanning the room, the presence of her loving boyfriend was lacking. She sees no sign of Riki, to think that he was the person she first expected to see after waking up from her slumber. Her gut was giving her a strange and foreign feeling. Takara didn't like where it's going.

"Where's Riki? Did he go out somewhere?" shifting her gaze from one friend to another with hopeful eyes, all she wanted was to be given a good answer. But instead of blurting out an answer, her teammates chose to be silent, avoiding her gaze at the process. "What's wrong with everyone? Why aren't any of you answering-"

As if on timing, Konon burst through the doors panting looking like she just participated in a fun run. Sweat dripped off her face and hair messy and tangled. She refuses to believe that Ni-ki's sister ran all the way here just to see her. Takara couldn't help but spill her drink. "K-Konon? What are you doing here? My gosh, are you alright?" the girl gestured Miihi to bring her a drink.

"Me? I should be the one asking you that! First my brother getting kidnapped then-"

"Riki has been kidnapped?" with her friends all looking down in guilt and sadness, the answer was now clear to the girl. Forcefully setting down her casted foot to the cold white tiled floor, Takara pushes herself to stand up. She could whine and cry about the pain later, right now she's determined to contact the police station and find her missing boyfriend. 

On the other hand, Miihi and Konon who are both concerned about Takara's current condition, restrained her from moving another step forward and slowly pulls her down the soft cushion of her bed. They get it, she's worried about Riki. Although his case was far more worrisome and nerve-racking compared to hers, choosing to endure the pain and neglecting the circumstances her leg is in, Konon and Miihi won't think twice and allow Takara to participate in a dangerous search. Whether she be the girlfriend or not, she should prioritize her health first.

"Stop! But Riki-"

Meeting eye to eye with her brother's girl, Konon tightly held on to Takara's shoulders with a serious look. "Riki can come later. Right now, you should focus on your recovery. Think about it! If Riki finds you in a cast, walking out in the dark streets of Seoul with crutches, would he be happy? Would he feel proud once he finds out that his own girlfriend is taking advantage of her injured foot while looking for him? Do you think he'd like that stupid act? What would he say?" water started forming in Takara's eyes, her point was set clear to her. It felt like she struck a nerve and because of that, Takara couldn't help but feel intimidated and scared. She continued to stare at the older girl, lips parted. "Don't act so recklessly. Stop acting like a saint."

Xinlong nudges Konon. "Konon, that's a bit harsh."

Konon rolls her eyes and walks her way to the door. "You don't have to worry about anything, my dad already contacted, Soul, Nina and Saeyoung's parents. Also, he's forming a team of specialists and high ranked officers who can help and can contribute well at their search party. All of you should rest, most of you still has school tomorrow." closing the door shut, the room befalls into silence. The thought of going to school without their captain, drowned their energy. It hasn't been a day but they already missed his presence. His playful and mischievous personality. It all felt like someone departed from the team, permanently.

"Meh, I think I'm skipping school tomorrow." purposely dropping down his bag, Taki sat back and blocked his face with a pillow.

As nigh time fell, the two girls were instructed to immediately retreat back into their respective rooms. With the two boys out of sight ever since this afternoon, they only hope that they aren't being tortured by this hour. But so far, there were no sounds of screaming yet so it's safe to say that the two are still alive.

"And so yeah. . . the next day I found three pairs of panties hidden at the back of the classroom."

"Why would there be panties at the back of your classroom?"

Nina shrugs. "No clue but they did look pretty cute. The colors were baby pink, baby blue and a warm shade of red." Saeyoung laughs quietly as her friend continues to cite the details of the underwear she found back before all this happened. Now that Saeyoung has thought about it, she too was able to find a brief hanging right near her locker last year. Yeah, it was weird and disgusting but it wasn't really much of a shocker. "I didn't who those panties belonged to so I sent it to our school's lost and found instead."

Saeyoung hums. "You didn't bother asking your classmates?"

"Do you think I'd be brave enough to show up at the front of the class and ask everyone in the room all at once, while showcasing the three panties I found dangling around my fingers? Dang it, that would've been fun though now that I'm looking back to it."

"Poor Nina. Poor and Innocent little Nina Makino Hillman." the korean girl pats her friend's back. It's unlikely to laugh and joke around if they are to bring up the situation they're in right now but even though they're being taken under the wing (for a moment) of these kidnappers, she has to admit, the fear and excitement was just not there. I mean here they are being treated well, strictly guarded or watched over by dozens of security cameras and bodyguards, the presence of blood nowhere to be seen, most these people's motive still unknown and most of all, the torture and suffering they expected to experience? Nothing. Nothing at all. 

Just a plain ol' crazy woman and her men abducting four children to have a sleep over at her place. What a nice setup. . .

"You mad woman! You fucking murdered them!" 

Saeyoung glanced to her friend wide eyed, that voice is so familiar. Refusing to wait another second, she grabbed Nina by the arm and ran towards where the voice was coming from. Hiding behind a wall, the two girls sneaked a peek. The two were surprised to see Soul being held back by Ni-ki while Hinagiku sat back, her face screaming in fear and sadness.

"What's wrong with you and your stupid head? Do you really aim to be a home-wrecker?" with no weapon in hand and with only Ni-ki to hold him, Soul was prepared to beat the living daylight out of the woman. After being informed that his biological parents' car crashed right into Nagi's, it awoken Soul's violent nature. How hungry he is now for revenge. "Get a fucking life you useless woman!"

"Soul calm down, we're at the wrong place to start a fight!"

"And the fuck why? Riki she killed your mother-"

"You're wrong!" spat Hinagiku. "Riki. . ." wiping her tears away, the japanese woman directed her gaze to the brunette with sincere and pleading eyes. "Do you wanna know the reason why your mother died?" with her soft whimpers filling the room, Riki could only stare and keep silent. He couldn't believe he was feeling empathy for an ex convict like her. "She did not die because of me. . . . she died giving birth to Katsumi."

His fist balled and his face looking shallow, the boy dropped onto his knees and stared at an empty space. Ni-ki didn't know how to react. As of now he wanted to be alone, cry and jump off a cliff. Climb at the top of a mountain and scream as if it's the last day of his life. After this whole thing is over, he wants to charge at his dad and ask why he has kept this secret for so long. . . . how selfish.

Nina linked her arms with Saeyoung's and quickly dragged her away. It was a family matter, they shouldn't be there to eavesdrop. 

"Nina what are you-"

She shushed her friend. "We're in no place to butt in their business. Let's go back to our room before the guards finds and exterminate us both."

"But how about Ni-ki and Soul?"

"They'll come later, trust me."

___________________________________

Fiercely Sweet is currently in its final stages!

Please stay tuned for the last few chapters of the book.

Hey everyone! Sorry for a long wait, school just started and I was quite caught up doing a few of my assignments.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Have a great day ♡︎